


Christmas Getaway

by Dreamin



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-09-28 10:36:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17181374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamin/pseuds/Dreamin
Summary: Eddie Brock goes home to New York for Christmas with his symbiote boyfriend. What happens when they run into the Avengers?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> From what I read online, Eddie's mom Jamie is dead in the comics, but I thought I'd change that for this fic. Nobody can guilt trip you like family, after all. Since this fic is Christmas-set and I'm starting it late, I'll do my best to get it done before January's over. No promises, though.

“You’re coming home for Christmas, right, Eddie?” Jamie Brock, his mother, asked at the end of their weekly call.

Eddie Brock had gone back to New York for Christmas every year since he’d moved to San Francisco. Still, he knew he had to get out of it this year – his mother had no idea about his symbiote boyfriend. “I don’t know, Mom…” He ran his free hand through his hair as he paced the length of his living room. “I’ve got a big story I’m working on.” It was a lie, of course – he had no plans to write another article until after New Year’s.

“We have wi-fi in New York, you know. You can write anywhere, Eddie. All I ask for is a week.”

_And now the guilt trip starts._ “You know I’d love to-”

“Then it’s settled,” she said, her tone brooking no argument.

Eddie sighed heavily. “Okay, Mom.” He glanced at the calendar on the wall. “I’ll book a flight for the 22nd.”

“I’ll get your room ready,” Jamie said happily. “It’ll be just like old times.”

_Uh huh, sure._

As soon as Eddie said goodbye to his mother and disconnected the call, Venom snickered from their place in Eddie’s abdominal cavity.

**That went well.**

Eddie shrugged. “What can I say? She gave birth to me, that gives her the right to guilt trip me for the rest of her life.”

**What will you tell her about me?**

“Nothing at all if I can help it. It was hard enough to tell her I’m bisexual when I was in college, I’m not about to tell her my boyfriend is a-”

**Don’t say the P-word.**

Eddie smiled a bit. “Is an alien. She won’t understand. I’ll just have to pray she never finds out, which means you’ll have to stay inside me the whole time.”

Venom snickered again and Eddie rolled his eyes.

“You are so twelve,” he muttered.

* * *

Thankfully, security at SFO wasn’t an issue and the flight to JFK was uneventful. Venom slept the whole time and Eddie was unable to keep the grin off his face as his boyfriend’s snores rumbled in his chest.

The symbiote woke up again during the cab ride to his mother’s building. **Hungry.**

Eddie smiled a bit. “What else is new?” he murmured low enough that the cab driver wouldn’t hear.

**Food.**

“We’ll eat when we get to Mom’s. Believe me, she won’t stop feeding me.”

**I like her already.**

Just as Eddie predicted, as soon as Jamie Brock had her son under her roof again, she insisted that he sit down and eat something.

“What would you like, honey?” she asked as he took a seat at her kitchen table.

**Tater tots.**

“Tater tots?”

“You need something more substantial than that, you’re just flesh and bone.”

Eddie knew that wasn’t true but it wasn’t a battle worth fighting. “Just tater tots are enough, Mom.”

“What about a burger? Or a hot dog?”

**No dead meat.**

“Actually, I’m a vegetarian now.”

Even without seeing them, Eddie knew Venom was smirking. **Sometimes.**

“Like that’ll last,” Jamie muttered as she took a bag of tater tots out of the freezer. “You’ll be craving my meatloaf before the week is over.”

He smiled apologetically. “Sorry, Mom, but my stomach just can’t handle meat anymore.”

“Oh! You should see a doctor.” She started talking about how a certain kind of tick bite can make people allergic to red meat as she put the tots in the oven. “I read it all online.”

“Sure, Mom.”

When the tots came out of the oven, Jamie put them on a plate then set the plate and a bottle of ketchup in front of him. He dug into the tots while she made herself another cup of coffee then sat down across from him.

“So, do you have a girlfriend? Boyfriend? Both?”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “I’m not polyamorous so it’s not both. Um, there is … someone I’m seeing.”

Jamie smiled knowingly. “Just ‘someone?’ What’s their name?”

“Venom.”

The symbiote chuckled inside him.

“‘Venom?’” she asked, scowling in confusion. “What kind of name is that? Are they a biker or something?”

Eddie smiled a bit. “He does look good in black.”

He could feel Venom’s smugness.

“So, it is a man. What’s his real name?”

**Unpronounceable. “Venom” is the closest translation in your language.**

_Why did I never think to ask that?_ “‘Venom’ is the only name I know him by.”

“How long have you known him? What does he do for a living? How old is he? Do you have a photo?’

**And I wondered where your curiosity came from,** Venom said, chuckling.

Eddie grinned. “Two months, motivational speaker, my age, and he hates having his photo taken.”

Venom laughed at “motivational speaker” and “my age.” **Nowhere close.**

“Does he treat you well?”

Eddie was glad to have a question he could answer honestly. “He always knows exactly what I need.”

“Well, if you’re still together next Christmas, I’d love to meet him.”

“I can guarantee we’ll be together forever,” he said, smiling fondly. “As for you meeting him … maybe someday.”

**I think I’d like that.**

* * *

Late that night, after Jamie had gone to bed, Eddie was watching TV in the living room and could feel Venom’s restlessness. “I take it you want to go out.”

**Hungry. There has to be a bad guy we can eat somewhere.**

“Okay but we have to be careful – the Avengers live in New York and we don’t want to step on anyone’s toes.”

**Toes are good snacks.**

“Uh huh.” Eddie got up and headed for the window.

* * *

Tony Stark flew over Manhattan, half of his focus on controlling the suit, the other half on his and Pepper’s upcoming Christmas wedding. _Just a few more days._ He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this happy.

“Boss, I’m picking up something … odd.”

Tony glanced down at the city rushing past him. “Odd how, Friday?”

“Big. Fast. Strong.” The AI pulled up thermal imaging of a huge, human-shaped thing swinging through the skyline.

Tony’s eyes widened. “That’s … not Peter, is it?”

“No, it’s someone who copied his moves.”

“Funny. Send the feed to SHIELD, maybe they can make sense of it.”

“Will do, Boss.”

Tony paused. “If this guy gets confrontational, can this suit take it?”

“Possibly.”

He groaned quietly. “Not the answer I was hoping for, Friday.”

“It’s the best answer I can give, Boss.”

“Right,” Tony said, rolling his eyes. “Well, let’s go introduce ourselves.”


	2. Chapter 2

Stopping the mugger had been the easy part. Finding a place to eat the mugger away from any security cameras was the challenge.

 _You know, we could always_ not _eat this one,_ Eddie thought from inside them.

If Venom could, they would’ve rolled their eyes. “Hungry.” Holding the unconscious mugger to their shoulder with a few tendrils, they used other tendrils to swing through the city, keeping an eye out for just the right spot.

They found a darkened alley just as the mugger was waking up. He started screaming as Venom held him up, their tongue darting out, and just as they were about to bite the guy’s head off, a voice vaguely familiar to Eddie spoke up.

“Hey, Toxic Waste, put the guy down if you don’t want to be flash-fried!” Iron Man shouted as he landed a few feet away, hands raised as if he were approaching a wild animal.

_Oh shit! Listen to this guy, baby!_

 Venom glared at Iron Man. “This turd tried to mug a lady.”

“Then he belongs in jail.”

“I’m hungry.”

“I’ll get you a pizza, just let him go.”

 _Do it! This guy’s an Avenger, we do_ not _want to get on his bad side!_

Venom looked at the mugger then back at Iron Man. “Make it tater tots and chocolate and we have a deal.”

“Whatever you want,” Iron Man said, finally relaxing. “I’ll buy Ore-Ida and Hershey, just put the perp down.”

“Fine.” They dropped the perp, who scrambled to his feet.

“Get that thing away from me! I’ll go to jail! I’ll do whatever you want! Just please, no more!”

“God, I love it when they’re cooperative,” Iron Man muttered.

Venom held back while Iron Man took the mugger to the closest police department. As soon as the man was in custody, Iron Man insisted that Venom come with him to Avengers Tower.

_So much for keeping a low profile. Better do what he says, baby._

“Fine,” Venom muttered.

* * *

“Boss, are you sure this is a good idea?” Friday asked as they approached the Tower.

“No, but when was the last time I had good idea?” Tony muttered.

“Three years ago, when you made me.”

He chuckled. “So I haven’t had a good idea since? Thanks.” He looked down at the … thing (whose name he didn’t even know yet) swinging from one building to the next below him. _I’m surprised he … it can keep up with me._

“Incoming message from Director Fury, Boss.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Put him through.”

“Stark, what in the ever-loving fuck is going on?”

“At the moment, Nick, your guess is as good as mine. Put the team on Red Alert but have them stand down for now. The last thing I want is to provoke this guy into eating someone.”

“‘Eating?’”

“Yeah, eating, but I think this guy can be reasoned with.”

“For everyone’s sake, I certainly hope so.”

* * *

_Okay, as soon as we’re in the Tower, you let me do the talking._ The skyscraper was getting ever closer.

“Why would I do that?” Venom asked.

_The Avengers are used to fighting aliens, not talking to them. And Venom, you know I love you, but you tend to be a hothead._

“Fine,” Venom muttered, “but I want a shitload of tater tots.”

_You’ll get them. Just … don’t show yourself until I’ve defused things, okay?_

“Okay.”

As soon as Iron Man led them into his lab, Venom seeped into Eddie’s chest and Eddie found himself surrounded by more Avengers than he could count, all of them ready to fight him.

He held up both hands, his eyes wide. “Don’t shoot! I’m not going to hurt anybody, I swear.”

**You’re embarrassing us again.**

“Better embarrassed than dead.”

“Who are you talking to, son?” Captain America asked.

“Um, my boyfriend. Look, my name is Eddie Brock, I grew up here and now I live in San Francisco. I came home for Christmas and I was hoping to actually **relax** but my boyfriend got restless.”

“And who’s your boyfriend?” Black Widow asked.

Eddie felt the tendrils coming out of his back and he winced. _Not now…_

Venom’s head formed and he grinned at the assembled superheroes. “Me. We are Venom.”

* * *

“Oh yeah, that went well,” Eddie muttered. He was sitting on the floor of a holding cell while the Avengers figured out what to do with them.

**Sorry.**

“Just … promise me you’ll actually listen the next time I tell you to let me do the talking.” He held up one hand and watched as tendrils oozed from his arm to form Venom’s hand and the two of them intertwined their fingers.

**I promise. I love you, Eddie.**

“I love you too, baby.”

“So, that’s how you two hold hands,” Black Widow said from just outside the cell. She sounded amused.

Eddie looked over at her. “Romancing someone when you share a body isn’t easy, but we make it work. Did they send you here to be our executioner?”

Tendrils oozed out of his back and formed Venom’s head, staring at her. “I’d like to see you try.”

She rolled her eyes. “We took a vote – we’ll let you free, provided both of you behave yourselves.”

Venom and Eddie looked at each other then they both grinned at her. “Deal,” Venom said, “but you’ll have to be careful,” they tilted their head towards Eddie, “this one’s a troublemaker.”

Black Widow smirked. “I think we can handle him.” She pressed the button to open the door.

Eddie scrambled to his feet.

She held out her hand. “Natasha Romanoff. Call me Nat.”

He shook her hand. “Eddie.”

“Venom,” the symbiote said.

“So, how’d you end up … together?” Nat asked as she led them out of the room and down the hall.

Eddie raised an eyebrow. “Are you interrogating us?”

Nat smirked. “If I were interrogating you, you’d know it. Let’s just call this information gathering. And just so you know,” she pointed a finger at the ceiling, “anything you say here can and will be recorded by Tony’s AI secretary.”

“That would be me,” a disembodied female voice said cheerfully. “Call me Friday.”

He smiled a bit. “Right.” Telling the story of how he became Venom’s host didn’t take nearly as long as telling the story of how the two of them became a couple. Of course, it would have been faster if Venom weren’t commenting every other sentence, but Eddie was used to that. _It’s one of the things I love about them, really._

Venom, who was telling Nat about their home planet, turned to him, grinning. “I love you too.”

Nat smirked. “Telepathically-bonded partners? I’m a little jealous – my boyfriend’s the strong, silent type. Being able to read his mind would save us a lot of time.”

Eddie shrugged. “I guess, but it also means I can’t keep a secret from this one,” he jutted his thumb at Venom’s head, “not even what I got them for Christmas.”

Venom grinned. “A giant Hershey bar and-” They were about to say more but Eddie clamped a hand over their mouth.

“There are some things that need to stay between us, baby,” he muttered.

Nat smirked. “You two are going to fit right in.”

By that time, they were at the door to the War Room. Eddie swallowed nervously when he saw the gathered Avengers looking at them through the glass-walled room.

“I hope you’re right,” he muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The hand-holding was inspired by a fanart by nathengyn on Tumblr.


	3. Chapter 3

“Why chocolate and tater tots, specifically?” Tony asked.

Eddie knew he had to answer since Venom was too busy stuffing their face full of tots and chocolate bars to respond. As soon as they had walked into the room, the Avengers introduced themselves and Tony insisted the two of them sit down and eat. Eddie felt Venom’s excitement over the plate piled high with tots and a bowl filled with Hershey bars.

He shrugged. “They never explained the tater tots fixation. I assume it’s because I like tater tots and that kinda got imprinted on them when we bonded.”

“And the chocolate?”

Venom muttered something unintelligible since their mouth was full.

Eddie smiled a bit at his boyfriend, amused. “Swallow then try again.”

Venom shot him a look but did as they were told. “Phenethylamine.”

Bruce’s eyes widened. “It’s a neurotransmitter chemical, humans produce it naturally. It’s also found in chocolate. So … eating chocolate is what’s keeping you from eating us?”

“I don’t eat good guys,” Venom muttered before they wolfed down more tots.

“Venom and I have a deal,” Eddie explained. “They can only eat bad guys.”

“Eating people isn’t right,” Steve declared, “it doesn’t matter if they’re bad guys.”

“Their kind can’t survive without that chemical,” Eddie said. “I try not to let them eat more than a handful of bad guys a week, the rest of the time they can survive on chocolate.”

“Think of me as a dung beetle, feasting on the crap of society,” Venom said, grinning.

Eddie rolled his eyes. “Sorry, we watched a nature documentary before we left.”

“Venom does have a point,” Fury said. “There are some people that aren’t redeemable, and the nation’s prisons are already overcrowded. I say let them eat all the bad guys they want.”

That seemed to bring an end to the discussion, something Eddie was grateful for. Talking about Venom’s unique diet wasn’t on his list of favorite things to do.

“Enough about what they eat,” Bucky said. “I want to know how you two share a body.”

Eddie smiled a bit. “Two heads, the rest is shared. Kinda like conjoined twins. Venom lives in my abdominal cavity except when I’m, well, wearing them like a suit.”

Bruce asked, mildly horrified, “Wait, so you’re sharing a stomach? So, when they eat a guy…”

“Yeah, I’m the one who gets to digest it.” He shrugged nonchalantly, not wanting to go into one of the more disturbing things about being bonded to Venom that he had to get used to. “But it’s a trade-off – the bond means their cells can heal any damage to my body.”

“Okay,” Tony said, “I’ll ask since no one else is going to. How do you two have sex?”

The rest of the team got offended on Eddie and Venom’s behalves, sparing Eddie from having to explain or defend tentacle sex. _We dodged a bullet there._

**I wouldn’t mind a demonstration.**

Eddie rolled his eyes. _And where’d this sudden exhibition streak come from?_

Venom’s head turned to grin at him.

He sighed quietly. _I can just see the letter now – “Dear Prudie, My alien boyfriend is a perv.”_

**I’m in your head, Eddie – I’m not the only perv.**

Eddie blushed just as Nat looked at them.

“Since Stark is going to be busy with wedding stuff for the next couple of days, how do you two feel about filling in for him?” she asked, smiling a bit.

Tony lit up. “That’s genius!”

At the same time, Steve said, concerned, “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Everyone looked at Fury.

“It’s never good when the team is down a man,” he said, then he gave Venom a pointed look. “As long as you don’t start nibbling on teammates or first responders, SHIELD is fine with it.”

“Deal,” Venom said, grinning, then they looked at Eddie.

He shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. Protecting the innocent, all that.”

“Just like we do at home.”

“Can someone show them around?” Steve asked.

Peter raised his hand. “I’ll do it.” He smiled at the two of them nervously. “I’ll show you all the cool stuff.”

Eddie smiled encouragingly. “Lead the way.” As they left the room, Venom stretched out two tendrils and grabbed the last two chocolate bars from the bowl.

Once they were in the hallway, one of the tendrils pressed a chocolate bar into Peter’s hand.

“Uh, thanks!” Peter unwrapped the bar and started eating it as he talked about the Tower. As soon as they were out of earshot of the War Room, he looked at Eddie. “I didn’t want to say anything back there but, um, I know who you are.”

Eddie raised an eyebrow. “Oh?” Inside, he was thinking, _Shitshitshit!_

**Relax.**

_Easy for you to say. What the hell does this kid have on me?_

“Yeah, I’m thinking about going into journalism and, well, I heard about what happened at _The Daily Bugle_.”

Eddie sighed heavily, relaxing. “It was stupid. My contacts deliberately gave me bad info and I ended up accusing the wrong guy in my column. Lost my job and all credibility.”

“I’m sorry,” Peter said.

_He actually sounds sincere._ Eddie smiled a bit. “Thanks. I’d like to say it was the only time I screwed up that bad but it was simply the first time. Starting over isn’t fun but you do what you gotta do.”

“Right.” Peter smiled at Venom, who was busy eating the last chocolate bar. “At least this time, you’re not alone.”

Eddie chuckled. “True. And now I’ll never be alone. Do you have somebody, Peter?”

Peter blushed brightly. “Um, sorta.”

“Uh huh. Well, good luck with her/him/them.”

“Her, and thanks.”

After a tour of the Tower, Eddie and Venom bade the Avengers goodnight then they went back to Jamie’s and got ready for bed.

**That was fun.**

Eddie chuckled. “Yeah, nearly getting turned into a crispy critter by Iron Man is always fun.”

**And now we have a job.**

“Being a substitute Avenger isn’t how I planned to spend the holidays, but I’m sure it’ll be interesting.”

**That’s the spirit.**


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, Eddie (with Venom tucked securely inside his abdominal cavity) told his mother he was following a lead then he went bright and early, as requested, to Avengers Tower. He was immediately escorted by Happy Hogan to the elevator and up to the floor that housed the gym.

Happy gave him the side-eye as they rode the elevator. “So, Mr. Stark tells me you’re filling in for him. You don’t look very intimidating.”

Eddie chuckled. “There’s definitely more than meets the eye with me.” At Happy’s dubious look, he added, “Like Mr. Stark, I have a suit.”

“Is yours nanotech too?”

He smirked. “Well, it is inside me.”

Venom chuckled.

“Something tells me I don’t want to know,” Happy muttered.

“You’re probably better off that way,” he agreed, smiling.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Eddie saw Bucky and Peter waiting for him. Peter was grinning like, well, like a kid two days before Christmas, and Bucky was trying hard not to smile at the teenager who was literally bouncing off the walls. And the ceiling.

Eddie chuckled again. “Hey.”

“Hi, Eddie!” Peter said, crouched on the ceiling. He jumped down and held out his hand.

Eddie shook it while a tendril seeped out of his wrist and wrapped around Peter’s wrist.

Peter chuckled. “Hi, Venom.”

More tendrils came out of Eddie’s shoulder and formed Venom’s head. “Hi, Peter.”

“And that’s my cue to leave,” Happy muttered before pushing the button to close the elevator doors.

Bucky chuckled. “It’s not easy to freak out Happy – congratulations.”

Venom grinned. “Thank you.”

They showed Eddie and Venom around the gym. Venom declined the offer to use any of the equipment.

“We don’t need it,” they said smugly.

Eddie rolled his eyes. “What my non-human boyfriend means is that nothing in here will help them build muscle since they just … make muscles? I’m not sure how to explain it.”

“Together, we’re as big as we want to be,” Venom said, grinning.

Eddie raised an eyebrow at them but the symbiote just grinned wider.

“But what about you, Eddie?” Peter asked.

He shrugged. “I work out when I get a chance but really, I’ve done a lot more running since I met them,” he jutted a thumb at his boyfriend’s head, “so I don’t need to work out as much.”

Venom grinned. “Sex is good exercise too.”

Eddie and Bucky said in unison, “Little ears.”

Peter blushed, mumbling, “It’s okay, really. I’m not a child.”

“Just someone too young to hear about stuff like that,” Bucky said, shaking his head a bit.

“Respect the kid’s age,” Eddie told Venom firmly. _You do not want to be in the doghouse._

Venom stared at him, their mouth agape. **No sex?**

_No tater tots._

They hung their head, mumbling, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Peter said, giving Venom an understanding smile. “It’s easy to forget that I’m a teenager since I’m so mature.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Eddie said, “but also there’s the fact that everyone else here is an adult.”

“Maybe physically,” Bucky muttered. “Some of them still act like children.” He let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like “Rogers.”

“Capt. Rogers set up a swear jar for every time someone swears around me,” Peter added.

“Yeah?” Eddie asked, smiling. “What’s it up to?”

“Currently, two hundred thirty-seven dollars and seventy-five cents,” Friday said cheerfully. “Hello, Mr. Brock.”

Eddie chuckled. “Forgot we had Big Sister watching over us. Hi, Friday. So, how much would a swear word or two cost me?”

“Twenty-five cents for the ‘not so bad’ words,” she said, “fifty cents for the stronger words, and a dollar for any form of the F-word. The money will go to a charity of Mr. Parker’s choosing when the jar is full.”

“The ‘jar’ is a water cooler jug, so it’ll take a while,” Peter said.

Eddie chuckled. “Who’s the biggest offender?”

“Fury likes his F-bombs,” Bucky said, grinning, “but he tries to keep it to one a week.”

“Of course, that depends on what kind of week he’s having,” Peter added. “Almost everybody says ‘damn,’ ‘hell,’ and ‘shit,’ but they’re trying to clean up their language – Mr. Stark says the rates will go up if he and Ms. Potts have a baby.”

Bucky smirked. “That’s a dollar, Peter.”

“But it was me saying it,” Peter protested.

“You still heard yourself.”

Eddie chuckled. “You don’t want to cheat your charity out of a dollar, do you?”

“I don’t have a dollar on me,” Peter muttered.

Venom stretched a tendril out of Eddie’s back and into the back pocket of his jeans, fishing out his wallet, then they looked through it. “Nothing smaller than a five? Fine – fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.” Another tendril pulled out a five dollar bill then offered it to Peter. “That covers both of us,” they said, grinning.

“Not the point,” Eddie muttered while Bucky laughed.

Peter’s face lit up. “I’ll take it, thanks!” He put the money in a pocket of his hoodie. “I’ll drop it off later, the jug is outside the War Room.”

Eddie looked at Venom, smirking. “You know this means you can’t swear again for the rest of the trip, right?”

Venom’s widened in realization then they muttered an impressive string of curse words that cost Eddie another ten dollars.

* * *

Eddie and Venom spent the rest of the morning sparring with Bucky and Peter. Without Venom acting as his suit, he could only throw a couple punches before he ended up flat on his back with Venom snickering inside him.

 _You think you can do any better?_ Eddie thought as he got up again. _They’re Avengers, man._

**A toddler and an old man. We are unstoppable.**

_Fine, but remember – “friends, not food.”_

**Yes, Dory.**

Eddie chuckled. “Okay, no more Disney quotes.” He looked at Peter and Bucky, who looked confused.

“Were you talking to Venom just now?” Peter asked.

“Yeah, they want to play. And to be honest, I’m tired of getting my butt kicked.”

“Then let them out,” Bucky said, grinning. “I could use a challenge.”

Venom oozed out of Eddie’s skin and grinned at both of them. “Let’s play.”

* * *

Steve walked up to Nat, who was watching the sparring from a safe distance.

“How’s it going?” he asked, the evident grin in his voice proof that he knew the answer to that perfectly well.

Nat chuckled. “I think Venom and Eddie will fit right in.” She looked over at Peter, who was wrapped from his shoulders to his knees in tendrils coming out of Venom’s left hand while Bucky was fighting off half a dozen tentacles coming out of Venom’s right. “You guys okay?”

“This is perfect!” Peter said, his mask covering his face but Nat assumed he was grinning from ear to ear. “I needed to test my problem-solving skills.”

Steve grinned. “Okay, Pete – if this were a real fight, what would you do?”

Peter looked down at himself, then at Bucky and Venom, before looking at Nat and Steve. “Um, pray help is on the way? No, wait, I know! Wait till they start monologuing then escape while they’re distracted.”

Steve, Nat, and Eddie cracked up while Venom grinned – they didn’t get the joke but they liked hearing Eddie laugh. Bucky chuckled while he fended off tendrils with a knife then, when one knocked it out of his hand, his bare hands.

 _Okay, baby,_ Eddie thought, _let the kid go. It’s not like he’s going to encounter another symbiote anytime soon._

“He could,” Venom said as they freed Peter. “More of us could come here.”

_I don’t even wanna think about that right now._

“More of who?” Steve asked warily.

“You don’t want to know,” Venom muttered then they looked at Bucky, who was still fighting the tendrils. “You’re good, but you’d never defeat us like that.” All but one of the tendrils receded back into their body, the lone tendril reaching out to shake Bucky’s hand.

“Just give me time,” Bucky said, smirking, as he shook the tendril.

“Do my eyes deceive me or is that a smile I see, Barnes?” Nat asked, grinning.

“He’s had entire conversations too,” Peter said then he took off his mask. His grin was almost as big as Nat’s.

“I’ve used up my quota of words for the day, too bad you missed it,” Bucky said, trying hard to keep a straight face as he gazed at his girlfriend as she approached him.

Nat smirked. “You forget – I have ways of making you talk,” she murmured.

“Little ears,” Steve, Venom, and Peter said in unison, all of them grinning.

“Hey, don’t wear yourselves out too much,” Tony said as he approached them. “I don’t want anyone falling asleep at my bachelor party.” At Nat’s significant look, he added, “Or Pepper’s bridal shower.”

“What are those?” Venom asked.

“Parties the bride and groom have before a wedding,” Steve explained. “Some bachelor parties get pretty raucous, but I doubt this one will.” He smirked at Tony. “Only you would want five uninterrupted hours in the R&D lab as your bachelor party.”

“Hey,” Tony mock-protested, “there’ll be music and food with the science. I’m the one getting married, I wanted to spend my last night as a bachelor doing-”

“Exactly what you’ll be doing as a married man,” Steve cut in, grinning. “It’s not like Pepper is going to ban you from your own lab.”

“True, but I’m not going to have five hours to myself once the babies come.”

“You make it sound like you’re having a kid tomorrow.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “No, but someday.”

 _Let me talk to them, baby,_ Eddie thought. _You’ve had your fun._

“Fine.” Venom seeped into Eddie, who couldn’t help flushing at the curious looks he was getting from everyone.

“So, um, do you want us to hold down the fort while you’re partying?”

Tony smiled a bit. “You’re invited to my bachelor party, but if sh-” He glanced at Peter. “Stuff goes down, you’re taking my place.”

Steve smirked. “His fiancée would kill him if he went on a mission the night before their wedding.”

“Yeah, I can understand that,” Eddie said, smirking.

“But if there’s a mission,” Peter said, concerned, “we might not make it back in time for the wedding.”

“Oh, we’ll make it,” Nat said, grinning, “even if Pepper has to come save us herself.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to take a moment to thank all of my wonderful readers. You guys have made this my most popular fic ever and I appreciate that so much.

After a quick shower, Eddie and Venom went back to his mother’s to get ready for the party. When he told his mother that he had run into an old friend and was invited to their bachelor party, Jamie was happy to let him leave without asking too many questions. “Just be home tomorrow morning so we can celebrate Christmas,” was all she asked.

In the cab on the way back to the Tower, Venom spoke up. **When will you tell her about me?**

_Before we go back to San Francisco_. Eddie smiled to himself. _I just have to be ready to call 911 if she faints._

**Am I that shocking?**

_Not to the Avengers, apparently, and definitely not to me, baby, but to someone who’s only seen real aliens on TV? Yeah. Then there’s the fact that you’re dating her only kid, so no grandkids._

His boyfriend was uncharacteristically silent for a moment then they said very softly in his head, **Not necessarily.**

“WHAT?!” Eddie asked aloud, too surprised to think it.

“You okay?” the cab driver asked.

“Uh, yeah, fine,” Eddie said quickly. “Just a surprising text.” _What do you mean, “not necessarily?”_

**There could be offspring.**

_Okay, once we’re back in San Francisco, you and I are having a looong discussion about that._

**I thought you’d be happy.** They sounded hurt.

Eddie absently stroked his chest, where he could feel the symbiote between his lungs, surrounding his heart. _I’m … not unhappy, let’s put it that way. I wanted kids with Annie, we were going to start trying after we’d been married a year or so. After we broke up, I didn’t think I’d find someone else I’d want that with. Then you and I became a couple and … well … I just assumed I’d have to give up the idea of kids. So, this is … an interesting little bombshell, baby._ He took a moment to consider the possibilities and smiled. _But I think it’s a good thing._

**Good,** Venom murmured, purring happily.

* * *

After being introduced to the rest of the male side of the Avengers roster and their friends, Eddie found himself sitting on one of the barstools that had been brought to Tony’s lab for the party, watching everyone as he nursed a beer. Fortunately for Venom, the stool was next to the refreshments table, so they didn’t have to stretch far to find something to eat.

Eddie couldn’t decide on how to feel about the fact that Steve was deliberately avoiding the two of them. Finally, he settled on amused. When the other man approached the table to get a beer, Eddie smiled a bit. “You don’t approve of us, do you?”

Steve sighed quietly as he grabbed his beer then turned to Eddie. “It’s your methods.” He glanced at Venom, who was gazing at the tower of Ferrero Rocher in awe. “Or I should say, their methods. I try not to kill anyone if I can help it.”

“But you will kill if you or your teammates are in danger,” Eddie pointed out.

“If I have no other choice, yes.”

“And you’re okay with predators who eat to live.”

Steve warily eyed Venom, who had changed their mind and was wolfing down an entire tray of cream puffs. “They don’t need to eat people to live.”

Venom turned to Steve. “I actually do, but I can get by on fewer if I have chocolate," they said, grinning.

“But they only eat bad guys,” Eddie reminded both of them pointedly. “No good guys, no innocent bystanders.”

“We protect innocent bystanders and get out of the good guys’ way,” Venom said proudly.

Steve couldn’t help a small chuckle. “What do the police in San Francisco think about you two?”

“They have no idea what to think of what bystanders and the, erm, survivors have told them," Eddie said. "Last I heard, they think it's guys on some new street drug. All they really know is some repeat offenders have gone missing.” He looked at Venom. “We try not to leave any evidence behind.”

Venom just smirked.

Eddie turned back to Steve. “I won’t let Venom eat just any criminal. It has to be someone really bad.”

Steve considered the two of them for a moment. “At least you seem to have a good moral compass.”

Eddie grinned. “Thanks. I think they’re,” he inclined his head towards Venom, “learning by osmosis.”

Steve chuckled. “Good.” He paused then looked at Venom. “What did you mean by ‘more of us could come here?’ More symbiotes?”

Venom glanced at Eddie, who shrugged. “Might as well be honest,” he said.

They turned back to Steve. “The Klyntar are always looking for new hosts. They want to take over this planet and exploit its resources, mainly humans.”

“Like the Borg on that old TV show?” Peter asked as he came over to the table. He grabbed two Christmas cookies and offered one to Venom, who ate it happily.

Eddie groaned quietly. “ _Star Trek: The Next Generation_ isn’t that old but yeah, that’s what Venom’s getting at.”

“Do you have any idea when?” Steve asked, his brow furrowing in concern.

“Unless another idiot takes a spaceship to the comet, it would take years,” Venom said. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Easy for you to say,” Steve muttered. “Promise me you’ll call us if an invasion is imminent. You two shouldn’t have to handle something like that on your own.”

Eddie and Venom looked at each other then at Steve, Eddie smiling in relief and Venom grinning happily. “We promise,” the two of them said in unison.

T’Challa and Tony approached them, already deep in conversation.

“I know you said this party is for men only,” T’Challa was saying, “but Shuri is bored at the shower.” He smiled a bit. “Not that that’s Pepper’s fault, of course. Since Okoye is already here-”

Tony held up a hand, smiling. “Say no more. My other favorite teenage scientist is more than welcome to join us.”

T’Challa grinned. “Thank you.” He turned to Stephen, who was helping himself to a Ferrero Rocher from the top of the tower. “Would it be too much to ask-”

Before he could finish his request, Stephen cried out in pain, the heels of his hands coming up to press against his eyes.

Wong rushed over, immediately concerned. “Strange, what is it?”

Stephen lowered his hands and opened his eyes, which were black from edge to edge.

Eddie and Venom looked at each other.

“Oh fuck,” Eddie muttered.

**My thoughts exactly.**


End file.
